any plumbers in the house?

So... water just started running out of my dishwasher. Dishwasher wasn't running. Was absolutely not turned on. Hot water just started flowing through it for no apparent reason, and overflowing onto my kitchen floor and down into the basement. No idea why. Todd, did you ship your poltergeist up here with the homebrew, by chance?

What the hell would cause that to happen? Problem with the dishwasher? Problem with the plumbing? We just had a frozen pipe the other day in the other end of the house, but it's been warm all day and I've run the dishwasher without problem since.

So.... uh... any ideas?

where is it running from? If your float valve is stuck it will cause it to overflow.

Well... shut the water off to the dishwasher, and it stopped. Is the float value something I could get at fairly easily to fix/resolve myself? The water's not running into the basement anymore, so it looks like I'm just short a dishwasher for the time being....

Could be a lot of things, hose could have broken leading into the washer, or the solenoid valve could be leaking- but they are "normally closed" - it might leak a little, but not a gusher. Was the sproutlet playing with the buttons at all? Is it newer and electronic or older with a dial? Newer versions with electronic controls have codes you can punch in to activate certain things, kind of like diagnostics.

Is the water coming from underneath, or filling and overflowing inside the tub?

Sounds like the solenoid valve failed open. Probably a PITA to get at since you have to pull the dishwasher out from under to counter, but easy to replace. Pull it out and disconnect the power & water line. Try blowing air through the water line, if you can the valve is either shot or stuck. Since it wasn't running at the time, probably shot.

The little carbon-emitting tax deduction was tucked safely into bed, so she's blameless - FOR NOW...

Newer dishwasher, maybe two years, I *think* I bought an extended warranty... would the solenoid value be an issue for the appliance guy or the plumber? Water was filling the tub and overflowing out.

I'm less panicky now that the water's not running (all over lots of electronics in the basement... so, I'll wait to talk to Marc de Plumber (or Sears Home Repair) on Monday, just have to roll up the sleeves and get dishpan hands for a couple of days...

In that case, it is the solenoid valve - which is part of the dishwasher. If you can, you might want to cut power to the DW so the valve doesn't burn out. It could be the valve itself, or it could be an electronic malfunction - either bad circuitry or maybe a small leak developed, dripped on the electronics, and shorted the valve open.

Contact the Repair Clinic. I use thes guys for diagnosing and buying parts for all my appliances. Excellent people.

http://www.repairclinic.com/0014.asp

DW is unplugged. Thanks, bros, SWMBO's friend's husband is an appliance repairman, I'll see if it's something he can look at.

I should have mentioned one key piece of information - the GD dishwasher has frozen up several times this winter, which I'm sure puts all kinds of stress on any valve. If he has to pull the dishwasher out, I'll cut out the drywall behind there and re-insulate around it. I've insulated like mad underneath the dishwasher, but the outside wall clearly has next to nothing for insulation in it.

Short a dishwasher? Your SWMBO left you?

Time to teach SWMBO in training....

Dude said:

Short a dishwasher? Your SWMBO left you?

Click to expand...

... at least I don't have to beg to spend $50 of my own money on beer-making gear...

Temporary fix idea to try to keep it from freezing next winter. Get some rigid foam insulation, cut it to fit the area inside the slot where the washer sits. Cut to fit, but make sure the electrical is clear, and you should get enuf of a barrier between the wall and the washer to keep it from freezing up. And it should last you til you get the kitched remodeled.

Just a thought..

Ize